Mountains of the 2011 Tour de France

Nine of the first eleven stages of next year’s Tour de France may be ones for the sprinters and escape groups, but once the race hits the mountains the riders are in for a tough second half.

There are six stages in the high mountains in the 2011 Tour; three in the Pyrenees followed quickly by three in the Alps. The first mountain climbed is La Hourquette d’Ancrizan (1,538m) on stage 12 while the last is the iconic Alpe d’Huez (1,850m) on stage 19.

The 16km climb to the ski station above Bourg d’Oisans is set to be the climax to next year’s race, but that stage, at only 109km, certainly isn’t the hardest.

Two stages jump out as being candidates for the Queen Stage. Stage 14 from Saint-Gaugens to Plateau de Beille has five categorised climbs in the Pyrenees and has a summit finish.

In the Alps, the stage to the top of the Col du Galibier looks like being another significant stage with three huge passes. The race goes over the Agnet at 2,744 metres, then the Izoard at 2,360 metres before climbing the Galibier (from Briançon, via Serre-Chevalier) and finishing at 2,645 metres.

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